Railway-track crossing.



G. H. KNOWLES.

RAILWAY TRACK CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 12. 1913.

1,153,166. 1 PatentedSept. 7,1915.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

COLUMBIA PLANOOllkPl-l 60.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

' e. H KNOWLES. RAILWAY TRACK CROSSING. APPLICATION FILED APR. 12. 1913. 1,153,166. 7 Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

. UNITED ATE NT: OFFICE.) .i

GEonGE H. KNowLEs; or WYOMING, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF 0 JOHN J. ABBOTT AND oNEainLE TO'ALVA J. ADAMS, BOTH OFfWYOMING, ILLINOIS.-

e RAILWAY-TRACK cnossINm To all whom it may concern .7

'Be it known thatI, GEORGE H. KNowLEs,

citizen of the United States, residing at Wyoming, in the county of Stark and State of Illinois, have invented centain new and useful Improvements in Railway --Track Crossings; and'I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same. 1

, This invention relates to a railroad track crossing. I I

It pertains particularly to a metal crossing for "a railroad tracklat street crossings and road crossings, and the like; V

The invention consists in a peculiarc'onstruction, combination and arrangement of the several parts as will be fully setforth andmade thesubject of the accompanying claims.

One of the ob ects of the inventlon s to provide a crossing structure for a railroad track that willbe thoroughly rigid, some of the parts of which, in fact, interlockwith others in order to provide said rigid structure.

Another object is to construct a metal crossing for a railroad track thatis capable of being extended to any desired length to accommodate the widest street or roadway.

Another object is to furnish .a structure "in a railroad crossing thatcan be d1sassembled and removed from its position when the track is to" undergo repairs, and that can be easily and'quickly reassembled.

Otherobjects and advantages will appear herein as the 1 description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application: Figure 1 is a plan of my improved railroad crossing. Fig.2 is an end elevation of the same with one of the end approaches removed. Fig. 3 shows,

in perspective, a partof one: of the side approaches forthe crossing. 'Figg' shows} in perspective, one of the endapproaches,

I and Fig. 5" is a sectional elevation of an end approach shown' in position adjacent a part of "an inner lnclosure for' a pavement "or filling between the rails of the track.

-A A"indicatethe track rails and B the ties upon :whiclr thefrails are mounted Specification of Letters Patent.

crossings for pedestrians inolosure'fora pavementof rubble or the Patented Septfl, 1915. j Application filedllpril 12, 1913, 's ria1No.76o,722. V

like and which consists of metal members C bent ,at right angles and abutting at their ends and forming, whena'ssmbled, an'in closure after the manner'shown in Fig.1.

This inclosure in the present instance is madenp of four of the parts, their ends all abutt ng on one another, but these may consist of but two parts having their abutting endsat the division lines D or' at the narrow ends, in which event-the members ad-' j'acent' each rail will be single parts, it bemg the desire'to withdraw en'dwise, or move parallel to the rails, either of thedescribed sections in the disassembling operation.

In Fig. 2 it is observed that the'abutting ends at D are secured together by a tieplate E and bolts B so that in use these members C Wlll constitute a rigid structure.

Between each of the members C and each railis a grooved member F clearly shown in.

Fig. 2 the bottom of whose groove lies sufiiciently low to be out of the reach of the flanges of the wheels. Preferably the membersC are provided with heads and broad bases," -much a'fter the fashion of the track rail, as

indicatedby broken lines in Figs. 2 and 5. However, the inner flange portions or those at the top and: bottom of the parts within the inclosure may be omitted. The members F consist each of a casting or of rolled steel of sullicient width'to lie beneath the rail head and the head of the adjacent member.

-C,ftheir height being such as to snugly fit between the heads and the bases of those members so that when the whole structure isas sembled the members F at the rails'and the parts C will fit snugly and rigidlybetween the rails regardless of the passage of trains which would'tend to loosen them.

Said members'F may be secured to the; member Cif desired by means of bolts G,

for example,Figs. land 2, while said membersF may be merely islidable against the inner sides of the rails; g I

As previously'stated, the crossing be extended to any distance dependingupon the width of the street or roadway, and in 7' order to" provide forj'this, straight bar sec-" tions corresponding in form of cross sectionto the members C may be inserted between the ends of saidmembers C adjac entermost to complete the required inclosurei parts C being slipped endwise into position Additional lengths of the members F may likewise be added to increase the length of the grooved parts. to correspond in length, n

with the extended parts C, suitable provision being made for securing all of-the parts F and C together;

In placing the described structurein position one of the members F and the part or,

partsC with which it is associated through the bolts Gare placed adjacent one of the rails, theopposite' member F and its'part or between the opposite'rail and said part C, or after one of the members 7 F and its associa'tedpart Cfis in place the other member F may be placed against its rail and the associatedpart O slipped in afterward, However, this is merely a matter of choice and either of the'methods or any other may be 1 used; But when' slipped in separately, the r member F and part G would'require bolting together afterward, the bolts being inserted from beneath, if 'indeedthey-are to be bolt ed at all, 1 V r I V Ateach end of the inclosure C C is placed an approach H, see Figs. 4: and .57. Thismay consist of a casting or of pressed metal, and comprises anupwardly slanting portion J and a' verticalpart or apron K, the latter resting upon the lower flange of the-end portions C. Said apron is notched at L to admit the tie plate E and permits said apron to lie closeup against the vertical flange ofthe member C or atleast so that the topmost portion of theapproach may lie beneath the head of thepart C, asshownin top flangeof the member C at the endsis preferablyslopeddown at an angle to more I nearly agree" withthe angle of the approach, see Fig. 5, to present a neat appearance and so that track men willnot be likely to be injured by catching their toes beneathit. A1 0',*am if parts of the rolling stock by chance were to drop down and hang from thej vcar and. drag between the railsf'there will be little rchance of those parts catching I and cause damage to the roadway or toi the said rolling sto'cki Again,.as shown very clearly in Fig. 1 the ends of'the approaches "are recessed. as at H" in such a: manner as to snugly overliethe flanges of the rails.

' I have stated that the members F are grooved, j Theapproaches H, a are likewise grooved or ratherprovided with notches on their. highest surfacesf-as sh'ownfat M in.

Fig. 4. in line with said grooves ofsaid mem-. bers .F sothat 'the' fwheel flanges will not 7 strike them, this notchingbeing, made neeessary'from the fact that the approachin lyingup snugly beneath the head'orflange ,5 of the-part C, would likely be too high for the flanges to" readily pass above themwithdriven into the ties adjacent to the arising. from my} crossing structure;

As shown inthis figure also, the

m tlipp g t e pa s; b t/by "The we haIfpo'rti out striking The notches co u m with the grooves also admit ofi -readi mittingthe dirt accumulating in the p .of the mem er l o bea wsi -a fi Theend approaches-descri W g in position by 'suitablemeans and this meansmery consist of the usual spikes the approaches and upon whichsaid' proaches rest.' It is clear that these, n preaches" in abutting upon and against parts will prevent end movement t creek Outsideeach rail I provide an up 7 O forQyehicles crossing; e3 track; S may consist of castings or of of good heavy gage whose outer lowe lief) close .to, and upOn he ties, b ing; 0% by spikes P thereto, and each, hayin inner part lyingbeneath the 'railgli extending under-the same asclearly-sh inFig. 2 and continuingfinto ajdep portion Q to rest, upon the railbase, beinga IlOtGh Rflll each approach to} the lower flange of the'rail. Any filling may be placed within thedncl made up ,of the-parts C, .for exam to, brick, rubble, concrete or the 1ike, ,Whi make asolid roadway for the vehicles in over the track.-, r V r 7 en necessary-to repaint track as, replacin .the-ties,-' or replacing he partsG may bejslipped out frombetw the rails'as already described by more? movingyeither. one; or both-of the en proacheS H T er a es veral ad of those mentionedgFor example, the t h bers F whichllie between the rails and M members C by their i structure are 7 strong, and can withstand an immenseg cal pressure without, bending or; 61 and when placed between the hea oi rail and the lower the ends of rails Where ,1 they abut b .will rigidly ported. Again, the endnPPmQcheS sistfin rerailing a car that may of track. The wheels in running up said proach can be made .to the by any/of-the usual methods. My crossing structure differs r of tlkelprior .artn tlnlat the inclosjure, "up 0 t eparts .an con-es "ndmg'" *1 parts of other railway erossg ngs 'lymg tweenthe rails, is not secured jupon th butisheld entirely, by the members I in eflect interlock }with the, rails parts C toj'holdsaid inclosure f I only makesa --crossing w Jose parts. become loosened. b r tra've 'overritj bulk in withdrawing the spikes that hold the approaches H and withdrawing ter; In addition, none or theparts spiking. exceptiithelSaidfapproaches;

of the hm upaof the parts C C whendisconnectedat the ends by removing theplate, E can be withdrawn or replaced with perfect ease,

I the members F since secured to them likeand the two frame parts andsaid members I rail-heads, then by shifting either frame. portion, or both, slightly in a longitudinal just fill the space between the rails, the

whole is solidly and permanently positioned when the plates E and the bolts E are in place, no other holding means being .required. The said members F can extend the full length of the frame portions C or they may be any length desired and in assembling the two parts of the frame and the attached members they are laid in about the positions they are to occupy, thenmoved laterally so that the members are slipped beneath the direction, the two ends thereof are made to abut whereupon by attaching the plate E the assembling of these partsof the device is accomplished. I am not aware of any other device of this nature that has the advantage of quickly and easily assembling or removing the parts.

Various changes may be made in the structure described without departing from the spirit and intent of the invention and the accompanying claims since the device is susceptible of various modifications.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a track crossing structure, in combination, the track rails, a frame lying between the rails, opposite portions of which lie substantially parallel to and spaced from the rails, a member secured to and carried by the frame at each, side and extending between the frame and an adjacent rail and engaging beneath the head of the'same and held by it, and a member extending between the rails at each end of the frame and extending beneath the rails heads and secured relative to said rails and lyingadja-V cent the frame ends.

and a member lying between the rails adj acent the frame its ends lying beneath the V rails heads.

3. In a track crossing, in combination, the

track rails,;a rectangular part lying between the rails andspaced' from the same, amenaber lying between the part and each rail and havmg a groove in its upper surface, an

approach at each end ofthe said part lying at right angles to the length of the rails and abutting against the part, and against the;

ends of thesaid members, each said ap-v proach having anotchin its upper portion.

in register with and forming a continuation of the grooves of the said members.

- 4;. In a; track cross ng, the combination ,withthe track rails, of an inclosure or frame lying between the rails, a ground member lying between the frame and each rail and engaging beneath thehead of each said rail and adapted to secure'the said frame relatively to the rails, and an approach abutting upon the frame and lying perpendicularly to the rails.

5. In a track crossing, the combination with the track rails, of an inclosure or frame lying between therails, a ground member lying between the frame and each rail and engaging beneath the headof each saidrail and adapted'to secure the said frame relatively to the rails, and an approach abutting abutting against the inclosure and the ends of the members and engaging beneath the flange of the former. I 7. In a track crossing, the combination with the track rails, of an inclosure lying between the rails and including a flange at 1ts upper portion, a grooved member lying between the lnclosure and each rail, a slanting approach lying between the rails and abutting'against the inclosure and the ends of the members and engaging beneath the flange of the former, and provided with recesses corresponding in position to the grooves of said members.

8. In a track crossing, the combination with the track rails, of an inclosure or frame lying between therails, a grooved member lying between the frame and each rail, and engaging beneath the head of each said railand adapted to secure the said frame relatively to the rails, and an approach abutting upon the frame and lying perpendicularly to the rails, and an approach outside the track adjacent each rail.

9. In a track crossing, in combination, the track rails, a part lying between the rails tov receive a road filling, each being spaced from each said rail and lying substantially. r

5- surface of each rail, and an approach-lying part adjacent each rail and engaging bea P f two m' neath the head of the same, an, approach 1 r l l 7 lying parallel to and adjacent the outside LJGEORGE parallel thereto a member secured te ea'ch' -lllt m l "WherGOf I a my between the rails-at each end ofthe frame substantially at right angles to the length Witn s a of the rails, and means to secure the several.- g HARLEY Cox a V a approaches in place. r i' FRANK M; Caz; v 3

Copies! this patent may be obtained fer five cents each, by' gd dre'utng the Uommiuioner of I Wash1ngton,D.0." 5 a 1 

